Running in circle? Move abroad!

2 – Taking the leap

So, one thing that has to be figured is that it’s quite unlikely that you’re going to be able to do the same kind of job that you had been doing prior to relocate. You might have to start over on a lower level of the ladder, or perhaps you could have to do a whole different kind of job to start! There are several reason or factors involved here (you won’t know anybody able to recommend your personality or expertise, you won’t know the way things work « in the inside » of the country’s labour world, you simply have to show your worth!), but that will be all temporary in the end.

Make your own skill assessment

In order to tackle this penalty in the most effective and safer way, you should really put some work in defining an exhaustive profile of yourself in terms of what what you would like to do there, and more importantly what you would actually be able to do. Gather your strengths, and not (only) the ones from your resume. Reflect on yourself and identify any trait that you could turn into a demonstrable skill in order to get a satisfactory job in the new place. That could be some languages you talk, a degree of knowledge of a geographic market that you can demonstrate. You could also adapt your resume in order to step into demanding job markets related to your expertise.

By the way, another thing to cover is making sure that you have the right job title(s) in mind while building your resume. Indeed, it is not rare that one same type of job is called one way in a given country, and differently in another one. So just keep that in mind.

Stack up some cash

Then the rest of this preparation phase is all logistics. After you’ve established what it will take financially to actually get in your new place, and how much it’s gonna cost to live there for at 3 to 4 months, you’re gonna have to play some numbers. Gather some funds from your savings, severance, life-insurance (only if absolutely needed, that money is better kept working). Ultimately, if that’s still not enough to cover the budget you’ve established, you can always sell some stuff that you can’t store anywhere or that you simply don’t want anymore.

Equip yourself

You should also shop around for some proper equipment: since you’re going to have a quite mobile life style for a few month, invest in some good laptop and/or reliable smartphone (aim for tri-band connectivity). Depending on where you’re going, you might want to take advantage of your homeland retail knowledge to get some proper clothing equipment for cold or warmth.